Lessons Learned During Summit Week

It’s a Monday morning and I’m experiencing summit withdrawal. Being with so many enthusiastic teenagers was one of the most incredible experiences of my high school career. When I got back, my dad asked me if anything was wrong because I was so quiet. I gave a short explanation about how worn out and tired I was, but in reality, I was missing all the incredible friends I made last week. At this time, last week, I was on an airplane on my way to DC, about ready to have one of the best adventures of my life.

I remember not knowing what to expect, not knowing what would come of that week. When people asked me ahead of time what I’d be doing in DC, I explained that I had no idea! I knew, vaguely, that I’d be given leadership training and that I’d be able to meet some really incredible folks, but I had no idea just HOW incredible they’d be.

Meeting the other Student Leaders was the best part about Summit Week. It was absolutely humbling to hear their stories. People from across the country, starting non-profit, raising thousands of dollars for charity, doing hundreds of hours of volunteer work, and so on.

I learned many, many things during that short week. Here are just a few:

1)      Everyone has a story. You just need to take the time to listen. At summit week, it was great, because we were all able to introduce ourselves and learn about others. I cried several times hearing the inspirational paths that many of the teens took to leadership.

2)      Don’t judge people on appearance. I’m not a racist individual, but being brought up in a primarily white community, going to school and church with primarily white individual’s means that before the summit, I had a rather limited world view in terms of race and culture. My understanding and insight into cultures and races other than mine were limited to pop culture references from hip hop artists and stereotypes delivered by the media. In my lifetime, I’ve never had a friendship with a Hispanic or African American, or even Asian individual, not because I am racist, but because before the summit, I didn’t truly know anyone who identified with a minority group. Going to a leadership conference so diverse was truly incredible. I was able to expand my worldview and get a broader perspective on American culture, far more accurate than any conclusions one would draw from a hip-hop song.

3)      Believe in yourself. If a company is willing to invest over a million dollars on a small group of about 200 kids, then those kids are seriously worth something. Don’t ever give up. You’re valuable. Valuable because of who you are and your potential to impact society in a positive way.

4)      It’s not all about you. Reach out and help your community. You should be empowered to go out and make a difference. While in DC, I read a quote on the MLK monument and it said “Make a career of humanity.” It’s not all about making a six-figure paying job. It SHOULD be about helping others. Being at the leadership conference was inspiring because of how unselfish the Student Leaders were and how so many of them had already created nonprofits.

- Mary Di Valerio